According to World Health Organisation (WHO), cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the world – more than 30% of the cancers are preventable.
Anyone can get cancer – WHO reports more than 100 types of cancers affecting any part of the body. In 2012, 8.2 million people died from the disease. around 14% of deaths worldwide.
The five most common forms of cancers (in order of frequency) in males are lung, stomach, liver, colorectal and oesophagus.
The five most common forms of cancers (in order of frequency) in females are breast, lung, stomach, colorectal and cervical. In many developing countries, cervical cancer is the most common.
Around 70% cancers occur in low and middle income countries. 60% of world’s total new annual cases occur in Africa, Asia and Central and South America.
Tobacco use is the single largest preventable cause of cancer in the world causing 22% of cancer deaths.
One fifth of all cancers worldwide are caused by a chronic infection, for example human papillomavirus (HPV) causes cervical cancer and hepatitis B virus (HBV) causes liver cancer.
More than 30% of cancer could be prevented, mainly by not using tobacco, having a healthy diet, being physically active and moderating the use of alcohol. In developing countries up to 20% of cancer deaths could be prevented by immunization against the infection of HBV and HPV. Cancers of major public health relevance such as breast, cervical and colorectal cancer can be cured if detected early and treated adequately.
Source World Health Organisation fact file